During the 2011 season, midfielder Jeff Larentowicz always seemed to come up with the big goal when the Colorado Rapids needed it the most.

That was the case on Saturday when Larentowicz buried a free kick in Vancouver to tie up the match against the Whitecaps, a game that was critical in the Rapids quest to host a playoff match. They would go on to win 2-1.

It was a career-high seventh goal for Larentowicz, enough to earn him the Rapids’ Golden Boot, an honor that goes to the team’s leading scorer.

“It’s great,” said Larentowicz. “That’s something I’m not expecting, and I wish it weren’t me.”

If he doesn’t sound too thrilled about the honor, can you really blame him? After all, last season, the Rapids leading scorer was Omar Cummings who netted twice as many goals. And let’s not forget, Conor Casey added 13 goals last year.

While the “Ginger Ninja” (as he’s known by Rapids supporters) would probably not want to give back a single one of the goals, what it appears he’s really wishing for is some production out of the Rapids strikers.

Now, you can’t really blame Casey. He was productive, scoring six goals in 11 starts before blowing out his Achilles in Seattle.

However, Caleb Folan, who finished with six goals, had trouble finding the back of the net during the run of play. He took 40 shots this season and only 16 were on target. Two of his goals came from the penalty spot.

And then there was Cummings, the Rapids biggest offensive weapon who never really found his groove after an ankle injury and national team duty, finishing with three goals (one fewer than defender Drew Moor) in 18 starts.

Sanna Nyassi emerged as a dark horse candidate for the Golden Boot after notching a hat trick against New York Red Bulls. He was never shy about pulling the trigger, finishing the season with a team-high 61 shots, 24 of which were on frame, and five goals. But, other than a brief outburst, he was never a real consistent goal-scorer.

I’m sure most Rapids supporters would agree with Larentowicz, wishing it were someone else who won the award. Because let’s be honest, the Rapids will need their strikers to step up in a big way if they plan to hoist the MLS Cup again this season.